Candle
by Auraize
Summary: SasoSaku, AU. The light shines brightly, illuminating the dark shadows of the room. "Soon. You'll have me soon."


**M E :** new story. you're all probably saying, "ANOTHER ONE? Oh crack. THEN what? Put the story on hiatus and let your fans die?" well, sorry to burst your bubbles, guys. I'm just me. New ideas come up when you're inspired...yeah, right. _Inspired_. By what? or rather, by _who_? No, I'm not tellin ya, but I'm leavin clues. I just hit EMOTIONAL puberty.  
hey, is this what you call infatuation? i can not believe i am saying this.

**nywayz**. This is gonna be SasoSaku, yeah, I got obsessed. X) Better than SASUSaku. I hate that dumb chicken butt. So I'm gonna keep sayin this for a while: if you ever mention or more of PRAISE SasUKE in front of my thick, ugly face, you will suffer. :) back to main topic - this is a supernatural SasoSaku [with some NejiTen/ShikaTema/KakaSaku] fic. Not mushy, rather, seductive, angst-y, and dramatic. GOTHIC, think that.  
**DISCLAIMERS:**I do not own anything here(Naruto characters and its rights) but the plot of the story. Since its FAN-fiction. Thanks Kishi-sensei!! May you live long! ^-^

**Candle  
**_1 - The Torch_

. c a n d l e .

Sakura sunk on the green couch. She let her body relax after the tiring work a little while ago. She had washed the dishes after breakfast with Fenrir and cleaned the house. It was a sunny Sunday morning after all - what's an eighteen-year-old waitress on vacation to do? The house was empty too - it only filled with her and her stunning Labrador, Fenrir. With all the work put aside, and having all the dust and grime attach to her now exhausted body, she wanted to go take a bath, but decided to rest first.

Fenrir entered the room, wagging his tail cutely. Sakura, whose eyes were closed, opened one and stared at her companion. "What?"

The golden-brown Labrador walked cheerfully to Sakura and sniffed her. He made a noise that could be described between a snort or a taunt. In dog language. "Wha-? Uhh...no, I'm not taking a bath yet," Sakura sat up straight. She stared right into the dog's hazel gaze, raising a perfectly thin eyebrow. "Later! I want to rest first." The dog narrowed its eyes, almost scolding her so-called 'master'. "Give it up, Fenrir."

As Sakura told Fenrir to _give up_, Fenrir just inched closer and snorted in front of Sakura. The pink-haired adult pouted, losing the glaring contest. "Payback time later, mutt!" She pointed a finger at Fenrir as if the dog was a criminal. Fenrir just growled lowly, as if threatening his owner. _Sounds like, "Oh, you'll never get that! If you ever do, I'll make you pay THREE TIMES!"_, Sakura thought.

Sakura stood up, stretching, and headed to the bathroom.

. c a n d l e .

"Ain't gonna give up, huh?"

Sakura stared at Fenrir, who was gritting his teeth (another tantrum, she guessed), with a bored look. She threw the ball again, hitting the wall, and bouncing on Fenrir's head. He panicked, looking for the shiny, red ball.

The phone ringed. And, for the first time in Fenrir's history, Sakura was happy to answer the phone.

Sakura Haruno always hated phone calls.

"Hello?" Sakura greeted in a sweet voice.

**"Hey, Pinkzter, TenTen here."**

Sakura's sweet voice turned into a friendly, almost irritated voice. "Yeah, what's up?"

**"Lee's gonna have his birthday on Tuesday, and-"**

"He's gonna give away his 'collection', right?" Sakura interrupted for her. She could hear TenTen sighing through the phone.

**"You're a genius, Pinkzter, and yeah, but not like last year." **TenTen clarified. Sakura strained her ears, hoping to get an explanation. **"He has a list. A list of his junk and who to give it to," **TenTen paused, waiting for Sakura to process the information, since she was a bit weak in drinking info that has no relation with Science or Math. "O...kay."

**"And I hear Lee's gonna give me a...a...."**

"Toy poodle."

**"Pink smartass. Yeah, well...enough of that. And for you, I think, it's gonna be...a book." **Sakura's ears sprang. A book? Yes, yes, a book. For Sakura, any book is the source of inspiration, knowledge, and life. TenTen decided to continue before Sakura started to ask questions like who wrote the book, publisher, number of chapters, the topic, and all sorts of Sakura stuff. **"A book with no title. It has nothing inside. But he says if you write something on it, anything, an occurance will happen to you. Lee hasn't experienced it yet, and I've been wanting to try, but he won't give it."**

Sakura heaved a sigh. "That's superstition." She really didn't believe in any of those witchcraft, curses, magic or somethings. She based her view on logic, so no logic, unbelievable. Or at least if she hasn't seen it, or felt it, she won't believe. **"Thought you would say that. By the way, meet me by DigiRing. I need to talk to you."**

Sakura took philosopy. "I'm talking to you already."

**"NO. Somewhere...a little private? I mean, I have Lee, Gai and Neji here. You know what I mean?"**

"Oh. So...DigiRing?"

**"Yup."**

Before TenTen could say goodbye, Sakura slammed the phone back to its proper place. "Fenrir, behave here, alright? I'm going to meet TenTen."

. c a n d l e .

"Black Choco Bears, please."

The bartender immediately gave the brown-haired teen some dark chocolate in the shape of bears. She eyed TenTen carefully, narrowing her eyes and almost hissing. "Hey, Princess, this ain't a place for ya. I know you want to stay here, but not because you're a close friend o'mine I'll let you have special treatment. So in all, I'm _busy_."

TenTen kept her eyes big and her composure straight as the bartender, Temari Subaku, continued to glare at her. Sakura had only met Temari twice, and this was the third time. She didn't know much about her - all she knew, of what TenTen could only tell her, was that Temari grew up in a rotten city far away from here, with her two younger brothers but had finished college in an average degree. TenTen didn't tell Sakura why Temari chose to become just a bartender, not that Sakura wanted to know more.

TenTen grinned. "Alrighty, Miss Subaku, I'll stay in a lonely corner where I can't disturb you and your customers." TenTen grasped Sakura's wrist immediately and proceeded to a dark corner.

"She's a kind of...I don't know," Sakura kept thinking for the appropriate word. "Workaholic?"

TenTen opened the pack of Black Choco Bear box, containing twelve. A handsome amount of Choco Bears, but it'll last for half an hour. She munched a bit and stretched her arms across the table. "Uh, no," She flinched a bit, blinked, then took another small bite.

"More like obsession. She's addicted to her job. Even drove other customers crazy. It was when she had her chance to experiment with some wine." TenTen looked at the green-eyed teen, who was having a funny look. She smiled. "A dumb decision, eh? Hm."

Sakura blowed her cheeks. It was an old habit of hers - she did it when she was trying to remember something to tell a person or just bored. "Oh by the way," Sakura leaned forward, gathering her chin on her hand. "What did we come here for? Or rather, why did _you_ call _me_ here?"

"Oh. That," Tenten took three rapid bites and munched on them. "That, well, it's kind of embarassing. But if it's you, it's okay."

"Just get on with it, geez."

"Okay, okay," TenTen raised her hands defensively. "It's just...it's about Neji." TenTen said quietly.

Sakura eyed TenTen carefully. "So...what about him?"

"You know that we've been best friends, along with Lee as our little brother and Gai as our...'immature' father," TenTen shook her head violently, forcing herself to stay in topic. "And, of course, Neji's a cool and kind guy, and we've been together for several years and--uh. It's crazy," TenTen banged her head between her folded arms. "You know it, miss smartass! So I don't need to tell you!"

Sakura smirked, playing with her fingers. "I know that you know that I know what you're talking about, TenTen. But spit it out," She gave TenTen a boost. "You said it was okay if it was me, right?"

Sakura waited for TenTen's reply. "A-alright. I'll start over." TenTen breathed - inhale, hold, exhale. Inhale, hold, exhale.

"I don't know if this is already the thing I thought I'd be feeling. It could only be infatuation," TenTen admitted calmly. Sakura thought for minutes and then, "The long time of fifteen years of being together, _infatuation_? What the-TenTen! You were right of your guess! You're in love with that man!" Sakura cheered. TenTen was blushing furiously, and said, "It's pretty obvious, I know, but what I can't understand..."

Sakura stopped beaming. "You can tell him how you feel, right?" TenTen nodded. "Then what? Why are you hesitating?"

"I'm scared of his answer."

Sakura stared at TenTen. "I know you know what I'll say, but I'll say it," Sakura patted TenTen's head. "_Keep going_."

"Thanks."

"No problem, but the time I need help, I'm expecting the first person to help...!!" Sakura pointed at TenTen. The panda beamed, "Yes, miss Pinkzter!"

. c a n d l e .

Monday afternoon. Windy.

Sakura was again lying on the couch, almost asleep. Fenrir was taken by TenTen, having the reason to 'train' with her and Lee. Poor dog. She hoped her Fenrir would be okay, since running is Lee's specialty, probably worning the dog out.

Several occurances had happened.

It all started when she got home last night. She felt someone was watching her, someone not human. At times a shadow of a man would appear in the window or kitchen, and falling asleep last night, she didn't dream at all. Her mind was tired of consuming ideas, yet none fitted her mood. After thinking, Sakura decided to force herself to sleep to get her mind racked, since she didn't want an empty brain.

She sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for slumber to come.

--

_She stared at the harp._

_It was an instrument she loved. It was **the** instrument she played. She loved it._

_She graced slowly towards the golden harp. To her, it was a rare, beautiful sight; shimmering and sparkling the simple radiance it had. She walked slowly, afraid that the fragile object would disappear. She continued to stare at the elegant curves, addictive strings, luscious court and designs - all she needed was to hear the melody. She hoped the music produced by the magical harp was a sperfect as it looked._

_She sat on the available chair beside the harp. She stared in moments at the harp before sliding her slender fingers on the strings, getting ready to fill the empty room with melody. __She struck the first string gently, then struck another one. Seconds later, she looked to be just sliding her fingers on the strings. She looked gorgeous. Grace combined with melody and purity...Beautiful._

_She saw a man leaning on the doorframe. He was deadly handsome. He had striking red hair that made her want to run to him and run her hands al over it, silvery burgundy eyes that struck her soul. It was piercing. His **gaze**. It shreded the thick cover she managed to put over her soul, but he had destroyed it easily. It was suffocating her. It was difficult to breathe, but still her fingers graced the harp. For what she thought was an eternity of fer and suffering, the man walked towards her._

_**Unbelievable**, she thought. **How can he walk with such grace-?**_

_She attempted to drag her focus away from the man, ignoring him, and continued to play the harp. She seemed to relax. The melody grew quieter, slower, but the feeling was still strong._

_Cold hands lay on her shoulder. Cold, looking rough and stammered, yet smooth and soft._

_Her heart raced, and she stiffened, but her finger would still not leave the strings of the shining harp._

_"Princess," The man softly whispered, right in her ear. She turned to her left slowly. Her emerald eyes locked with the man's silver ones. "I am...." The man smiled. His smile was dangerously full of loving affection and seduction. His voice was sweet as honey, smooth and very sensual._

_She felt her face heating up at their close proximity. "M-mister, I didn't hea-"_

_"I suggest you call me Master," He commanded softly, yet his tone had a harsh side to it. He moved closer to her ear, his hot breath fanning her cheeks, tickling her skin. "You play very well, Princess, but..." His fingers slid down very smoothly down her arms. She shivered at his touch. "let me show you how a master works."_

_His hands guided hers, his silky light voice humming to the melody, making the music fantastic. "You...You know this?" She asked. It was a song she composed for her grandfather, and she played it when he died. It was her private little song, only she and her grandfather knew that. It was impossible for it to get spilled to a complete stranger._

_"Very much, Princess, and it's my favorite." He purred. The last note signaled the ending of the song, much to her surprise. She rested her hands on her lap and stared at them._

_She could feel Sasori behind her. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head. "Thank you, Princess," He slid gracefully and rested near her collarbone. "but it's about time you..." She got a glance at Sasori's sharp fangs. "...disappear."_

--

Sakura sreamed.

She had a deficiency of forgetting the nightmare or dream, all of it, if she didn't repeat any name of a person or place that was set in the dream. She started having this since highschool, and TenTen acquired it was from heavy use of caffeine, more problems and thinking. She didn't take long to respond. She had thought quickly. There was a room - no name. There was a lovely harp - no name. There...there was...

"What was it?!" Sakura panicked, hoping to not forget the name already. She snapped. "Sasori! Yes, Sasori. Sasori, Sasori, Sasori." She repeated it a few mroe times until she had summed the whole nightmare up.

"Fangs," Fenrir immediately ran to his master, blessed with whimpering eyes. "There were fangs, Fenrir, _fangs_!" She ran a hand through her hair and breathed. Sakura seemed to relax. For all she remembered after the horrific nightmare, it was a windy afternoon around three. She looked at her clock. "Eight thirty-seven?!" Her eyes widened, then eventually made the point. The fear she experienced really consumed a handsome amount of time. She shook her head, erasing anything related to her nightmare temporarily.

"You hungry, boy?" The dog just barked in agreement. _I have to take my mind off of deep topics, geez..._

. c a n d l e .

"Tell me the story. _Now_."

TenTen continued to glare at the pink-haired woman in front of her. "What happened?"

"I..." Sakura spoke quietly, yet TenTen could hear.

It all started when TenTen called for Sakura to meet her at DigiRing again. Sakura greeted TenTen with a loud _and _embarassing scream, much to TenTen's displeasure. TenTen had kicked Sakura in the shin for her wrongdoing, asking her why she did that, Sakura only said it was nothing and something just came up to her.

The second time was when they were in the comfort room. TenTen was washing her hands, Sakura was fixing herself up but then threw a knife at the mirror (which TenTen didn't know Sakura had carried one) having them to pay a painful tug at the pocket.

"Continue, please." TenTen continued her sarcasm, not minding if Sakura got pissed. For all she knew, she was more _pissed_ than _anyone_ could ever _be_. "Bitch, talk!"

Sakura didn't flinch nor wince at TenTen's frustrated growl and harsh words. "You make us embarassed and pay for a high price. That money took months of self-control to buy a new laptop! And here you are, _silent_?! What the _hell_ is this anyway? Why the fuck do _I_ hang out with _you_?!" TenTen made sure to lower her voice to not call attention.

"I'll talk. But first..." Sakura had a dark look. TenTen calmed herself a bit. "What?"

"Do you know _Sasori_?"

The name of the man from her nightmare tasted like venom. It made her want to hurl it all out, but she had to know. She didn't even know why she had asked TenTen in the first place! How could she know? She didn't know anything of her dream yet.

"Yeah, the man near our block."

Sakura's eyes shot up at hearing the information. "You do?"

"Uh huh. But...he's dead. Long time dead."

. c a n d l e .

**|Yes. Fenrir. Cloud's motorbike, neh? X)|**

_|yeahs, yeahs, and yeahs. mystery. but we all know what comes next. reviews give me ideas!|_

tell me what you think, guys, i need insipration! [besides the inspiration i get while staring into my Senpai's beautiful eyes...NO!! no! it's not infatuation! noooooo~!! DAMN YOU, PUBERTY!] and so yeah. alright! yay! so i'll be updatin on Tuesday[11-03-09], maybe a little more on the story and less in the author notes. please, _please_, do not expect Sasori to become really seductive ALWAYS. he just uses that trick to make his hunt easier. you'll see his gleam next chapter, which will be posted for **five** very long days. BUHbyez!  
~Maeratica15 (formerly known as melancholyknight. yah. I change a lot.)


End file.
